• Energy Research

Abstract There is a rapid increase in the air pollution level of the earth atmosphere due to the extreme demand and usage of the petroleum products. The demand has accelerated the recent research to explore an environment-friendly fuels suitable for the performance on the diesel engine. The optimization of the engine parameters using RSM with combination of taguchi method is an important aspect which generates an important optimized model for the responses. In the present study, an investigation of optimum performance and emission parameters of an engine fuelled with jojoba biodiesel is presented. The study also includes the optimization of input parameters to attain corresponding optimal thermal performance of the engine. The input parameters are injection pressure, injection timing of fuel, percentage blends of jojoba based biodiesel and engine load whereas the corresponding output responses such as brake thermal efficiency, peak cylinder pressure, exhaust gas temperature, and hydrocarbon emission are considered for the optimization during the investigation. The experimental design used in the study is based on a central composite rotating design matrix. The best combination of input parameters is recorded at 25°bTDC injection timing of fuel, 21.52 MPa injection pressure of fuel, 24% mixing of jojoba biodiesel with diesel, and 80% engine load which maximum BTE and Pmax minimum EGT and UHC emission of the engine. Experimental and optimized results of the output responses at optimum input parameters are compared and they were found to be in the suggested error range.

Abstract Effective methods of biomass characterization are needed for energy production due to the increase in biomass to bioenergy conversion capacity and the availability of various biomass sources. The utilization of biomass has been enhanced through thermochemical conversion techniques such as torrefaction, pyrolysis, and gasification. The biomass analytical techniques have been developed to decrease the time and energy required for biomass conversion performance. Thermogravimetric analyzer (TG) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopic (FTIR) analytical techniques facing several limitations when applied individually. Thus, TG coupled with FTIR (TG-FTIR) was used to analyze the main parameters of biomass and improved the energy crop growing developments. In addition, TG-FTIR can determine the suitable ratio for two different biomass or coal blending during the co-pyrolysis and co-gasification to achieve the optimum synergetic interaction. In this review, thermochemical conversion processes such as torrefaction, pyrolysis, and gasification are presented. The analysis of the thermochemical conversion of biomass with the use of TG and FTIR individually are then discussed. Lastly, this review aims to discuss the applications of TG-FTIR techniques that have been applied to the analysis of evolved gas from the thermochemical processing of biomass to biofuels.

ABSTRACTAround the globe there is a demand for the development of bio-based lubricants that are biodegradable, non-toxic, and environmentally friendly. This paper outlines the friction and wear characteristics of pongamia biodiesel contaminated bio-lubricant using a pin-on-disc tribometer. To formulate the bio-lubricants, pongamia oil-based biodiesel was blended in ratios of 5, 10, and 20% by volume with the base lubricant SAE 20W40. The tribological characteristics of these blends were carried out at 2.5 m/s sliding velocity and the loads applied were 50, 100, and 150 N. Experimental results showed that the lubrication regime present during the test was boundary lubrication, while the main wear mechanism was adhesive wear. During testing, the least wear was found with the addition of 5 and 10% pongamia oil-based biodiesel, and above this level of contamination the wear rate increased considerably. The addition of 5 and 10% pongamia oil-based biodiesel with the base lubricant represents a very good lubric...

Fossil fuel resource is on the draining stage which leads to an increment in the cost of the petroleum products. Nowadays, research is focused on the development of environment-friendly lubricants which are derivatives of renewable sources. Bio-lubricants based on non-edible oil sources are environmentally friendly because they are non-hazardous and biodegradable and no emission of toxic gases were detected when they are used. This study involves the characterizations and advantages, as well as utilization of inedible plant oil-driven bio-lubricants as an alternative for tribological applications. This report also presents the status of the global lubricant market as well as the potential outlook of the bio-lubricants for their future usage. Non-edible plant oil-driven bio-lubricants bear high viscosity, high lubricity, and high viscosity index which can enhance the equipment service life and deserve the ability to carry the high load and results in a minimum amount of metal traces during combustion while applied to engines. Beside their advantages, some of the disadvantages are also there which can be addressed by the employment of certain additives available according to the applications. The detailed study about the different additives utilized during their use in the internal combustion engine is also described in detail during this study. This study provides a detailed description of the possibilities associated with bio-lubricant based on non-edible oil feedstocks to the automotive sector applications.

There is a global demand for bio-based lubricants which are biodegradable, non-toxic and environmental friendly. In this study, various bio-lubricants formulated from Jatropha oil were investigated for their friction and wear characteristics at 3.8 m/s velocity and different loads (50, 100 and 150 N) using a pin on disc tribometer. SAE 20W40 was used as the conventional lubricant and blended in the ratio of 15, 30 and 50% by volume. As a function of sliding distance and on the application of different loads, JB15 contributes towards better results among the various blends of Jatropha oil. The addition of JB15 to the conventional lubricant resulted in a better lubricant in terms of reducing friction and worn surfaces on the top surface of the pin at various loads. JB15 can act as an alternative lubricant to increase mechanical efficiency and contributes to a reduction in dependence on petroleum based products.

Abstract In this work, an analysis of the efficiency and emission variables of a jojoba-fuelled engine is carried out using optimization techniques. This research study investigates the introduction of intelligent hybrid prediction models using an adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS), the ANFIS-genetic algorithm (GA), and the ANFIS-particle swarm optimization (PSO). The input variables are injection pressure, fuel injection timing, biodiesel blends and engine load, while associated output responses such as BTE, UHC, and (NOX) are considered during the investigation. The experiment and anticipated estimates of BTE, UHC, and NOX of the engine fuelled with jojoba biodiesel, acquired by ANFIS, ANFIS-GA, and ANFIS-PSO have been found to be significant. Three statistical measures of mean square error (MSE), root mean square error (RMSE), and determination coefficient (R2) were used to assess and compare the performance of the proposed model. The MSE and RMSE of the ANFIS-GA and ANFIS-PSO models have been noticed to be less than the ANFIS models. However, the determination coefficient has shown that the ANFIS-PSO models with R2 (0.9825, 0.9877, and 0.9895 for BTE, UHC, and NOx) show a reasonable upgrade in consistency, particularly in comparison to the suggested ANFIS model. Thus, the ANFIS-PSO system demonstrated as a better optimization process considered while considering the responses when contrasted with ANFIS and the ANFIS-GA. In short, the whole study concludes that hybrid techniques like ANFIS-GA and ANFIS-PSO are an effective and reliable method for effective assessment of engine emission parameters.

Abstract Utilizing the greenhouse gas CO2 as a feedstock in chemical processing can offer alternative solutions to long-term storage. In this study, a systematic analysis of methanol synthesis performance was analyzed based on both thermodynamic equilibrium and kinetic models using captured CO2 and syngas produced from biogas as feedstock. Using reactor inlet temperature as a parameter, it was found that methanol yield can be enhanced by increasing residential time from increased reactor diameter. The longer reactor can increase the residential time but a large pressure drop caused a decrease in methanol yield. Due to the exothermic reaction nature, methanol yield from an adiabatic reactor is lower than that from the isothermal reactor due to temperature rise. From the results obtained for CO2 hydrogenation, methanol yield can be enhanced by water removal. The CO2 conversion was found to increase with increased reaction temperature due to methanol and carbon monoxide productions. Using CO and CO2 as limiting species, high combined CO and CO2 conversion can be obtained from syngas with low CO2/H2 and high CO/H2 ratios. However, methanol production per mole of H2 depends on the H2 utility instead of combined CO and CO2 conversion. Finally, syngas produced from biogas by using combined dry and steam reforming reactions was used as the feedstock for the methanol synthesis. To obtained the syngas composition suggested from industrial applications, CH4 and H2O were added in the combined reforming process. With higher CH4 content in the biogas, higher methanol production and lower water production can be obtained. With an increased recycle ratio for unreacted syngas, methanol production can be enhanced.

Abstract This study investigates the potential of juliflora oil for bio-based lubricant applications and it was chemically modified by a two-step trans esterification process with further treatment with trimethylolpropane. After the chemical modification process, TiO2 nanoparticles were added to the oil. The lubricants were examined for properties like kinematic viscosity, viscosity index, flash point, and iodine value. A scanning electron microscope (SEM) was used for the examination of the worn surfaces. The kinematic viscosity of the oil shows increment with chemical modification and during the addition of the nanoparticles. The maximum increment was observed with a 1.2% addition of nanoparticles. The flash point increases with the addition of the nanoparticles and the maximum value was attained at 0.6% concentration. During the tribological analysis, 0.6% concentration of TiO2 nanoparticles demonstrated a reduction in the coefficient of friction (COF) and wear of the pin. The SEM images also show better surfaces when the nanoparticles were added up to 0.6% concentration which was due to effective lubrication to the surface. The optimum nanoparticle addition was found at 0.6% concentration to the chemically modified oil with an improved anti-wear mechanism.